Space dividing wall panel members are used extensively in modern office buildings to provide efficient, comfortable work stations U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,116 is typical of such prior art panel based open office furniture systems. The work surface of a work station is defined by a desk top, and the desk top is usually supported from a wall panel, such as via clips, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,829, or cantilever support brackets, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,158. Electrical raceways are disposed in baseboards of the wall panels, with electrical receptacles being disposed in spaced relation along the raceway, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,834. All of the above mentioned patents are assigned to the same assignee as the present application.
Various electrically energizable devices are usually placed on the work surfaces, such as computers, printers, calculators, lamps, and the like, and some arrangement for accommodating the cords of the devices must usually be provided when the electrical cords are to be connected to electrical receptacles located below the work surface. With soft core panels, containing a compressible material such as fiber glass, an electrical plug may be routed behind the back edge of the work surface by pushing the plug through a small gap between the work surface and panel. The compressible panel core "gives" to allow the plug to pass the edge of the work surface, and it then returns to normal. Wall panels are increasingly constructed with rigid cores, however, and thus some arrangement must be provided to accommodate the passage of electrical plugs between the work surface area and an electrical receptacle area located below the work surface.